Q, A & MR 2 - Testing The Waters - B/?
by Kylia
Summary: Jim tries to unravel the mystery of Blair's admirer while Blair answers some questions of his own


**TITLE: Testing The Waters (1/1)  
SERIES: Questions, Answers And Mysteries Revealed (Part 2)  
AUTHOR: Kylia (kylia_bug@yahoo.com)  
DISCLAIMER: Nobody belongs to me, unfortunately. They belong to Pet Fly, and a few other people I don't know.  
ARCHIVE: Yes. My site (http://kyliasworld.cjb.net), List archives, anywhere else, let me know where, and it's yours.  
RATING: R  
PAIRING: Blair/?  
CATEGORY: Romance; First time; Holiday;  
SPOILERS: If you've watched the show, your set. :)   
WARNINGS: None really.  
SUMMARY: Jim tries to unravel the mystery of Blair's admirer while Blair answers some questions of his own.  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is a bit different. I've never written this pairing before.  
AUTHOR'S NOTES 2: This takes place about a year after the end of the series, accept that that TSbBS never happened.   
FEEDBACK: Please. My muses need to be fed, or I'll go find someone else to play with instead :)  
DEDICATION: To Butterfly, & everyone who wrote me and told me they liked 'Mystery Gifts'. And of course, to Liz & Kaite, as always J  
********** **

Jim hung up the phony with a sigh. He really wished he were somewhere, anywhere other than sitting at his desk, filling out paperwork. The stuff seemed to multiply when he wasn't looking.

Shaking his head, he realized, not for the first time, how much of his hateful paperwork Blair was responsible for filling out. His guide had lost his access to the station, temporarily, while his paperwork to become an official consultant was pushed through.

Blair had been emersed in his University duties, preparing to take over his new position as a full-time professor in the Anthropology department. Which, paperwork aside, was actually a good thing.

Detective James Ellison had decided to make it his personally mission in life to unravel the mystery of Blair's secret admirer. He had been positive that the odd gifts had come from someone at the university. But with the Major Crimes Christmas party, and Blair's subsequent surprising gift, he wasn't so sure.

He had smelled Simon's cigar smoke all over Blair's prized gift. That in and of itself was very odd. It wasn't surprising that the captain would have pulled Blair's name for the gift exchange, but what was surprising, was the gift, which his friend received.

It was no secret around the station that Blair's *real* occupation was in anthropology, so a gift surrounding his field of study wasn't so bizarre as to arouse suspicion. Except for two things.

One, Jim doubted any of the people around the station paid enough attention to Blair to know the difference between anthropology and archaeology.

Second, this particular gift was not only anthropological, but specifically dealt with Sir Richard Burton, the explorer not the actor, as Blair was fond of pointing out.

Jim didn't think that anyone would be able to tell him the difference between the explorer and the actor. Nor did he think anyone would know the significance of this particular explorer to Blair.

How would anyone know that it was Richard Burton's writings about Sentinel's, which had first captivated the young anthropologists attention? How would anyone know the significance of Sentinel's on Blair life? No one would. Well, almost no one.

Simon would know, if he had paid attention in half of those conversations where Blair got lost in his own excited litany.

This realization just brought Jim back to the matter at hand. Obviously, Simon had been paying attention. A lot of attention. And those books were expensive, and no doubt difficult to find.

Which begged the question, why?

Why had his friend and boss spent so much time and effort on what was supposed to be an anonymous holiday gift exchange? For Blair? His partner, his friend, his Guide?

He found the situation odd, to say the least. To make matters worse the similarities between the personal gift Simon had given Blair and the ones the anthropologist had been receiving regularly for three weeks were disconcerting.

Jim didn't believe that Simon was involved with any of Blair's 'mystery gifts'. He knew the two had nothing to do with one another. Simon's friendship was important to both himself and Blair and he knew that whoever was behind these other gifts, was anything but a friend.

However, Jim couldn't be certain the books received at the Christmas party were in fact from Simon. He believed they were. All the clues pointed to Simon.

Simon knew about Blair's connections to both Sir Richard Burton and Sentinels. Simon knew how much something like this would obviously please the anthropologist, and he had smelled Simon's cigar smoke all over the gift.

Of course, Simon *could* have handled the gift sometime during the party. That thought was nixed when Jim remembered that the cigar smoke wasn't only on the wrapping paper, but the gift itself. It seemed to be somehow ingrained into the wood of the box itself. How that was possible, Jim wasn't sure.

He needed answers. And he needed them soon. All this speculation was beginning to drive him insane. Unfortunately, the man with the answers, Simon Banks, had been tied up with meetings with the mayor and the chief of police, these past three days.

So, Jim sat at his desk, filling out form after form after form, of overdue paperwork, while his mind ran around in circles.

Three hours later, the Sentinel dotted his last 'I', crossed his last 'T', and filed his last form, he hoped. Looking up, he realized that the captain's office door was shut, and occupied.

Shaking his head, Jim realized Simon must have returned recently, and he was too busy filling out paperwork and analyzing the insanity of his life to notice. Standing up, he placed his paperwork in the 'out' box and made his way over to Simon's office.

"Come in." Simon called from behind the closed door after Jim had knocked once.

The captain looked up from his own pile of multiplying paperwork as Jim entered the office and closed the door. "I swear this stuff breeds when you're not looking." He smiled wryly and then sobered when he noticed the serious look on Jim's face.

Simon sighed and stood up to pour himself some coffee. He poured Jim a cup, without asking and then handed it to his best detective, motioning for him to sit down.

"Simon, we need to talk." Jim took the cup and sat down.

"I suppose we do."

***** 

Professor Blair Sandburg banged his head on his desk three times and then closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. After a moment's silence he lifted his head and banged it again. 

His office was a mess, a disaster. Or at least what was *now* his office. Oh sure, it looked clean enough, spotless even. But he couldn't find anything. Not a damn thing.

He had just moved into his new office the day before, and a couple of thoughtful students had thought that they'd do him a favor and clean it for him.

He hated it. He really, really hated it. He couldn't find anything. Not the books he was looking for, not paperwork he really needed to get processed. Not the rosters for his upcoming class schedule. Not even his cell phone.

How was it something that looked impeccably organized really wasn't, when his old office, which looked like the disaster left after the tornado had hit, was so organized that he *never* had any problem finding what he was looking for?

A knock at the door distracted him from answering his own rhetorical question.

"Yes?" He asked tiredly.

The door opened and Chancellor Worth poked her head in. 

"Chancellor Worth. Come on in." Blair smiled at the woman. He really liked her. She seemed genuine in her desire to help both the university and its students.

"How goes the move?" She asked as she looked around. "It certainly seems organized." She commented with a wink.

"Seems being the operative word." Blair smiled ruefully, not entirely certain why he felt so comfortable with a member of the school's administration.

Chancellor worth laughed. A genuine laugh. It lit up her entire face, her dark eyes sparkling. 

"What can I do for you, Chancellor?"

"Rhianna." The Chancellor corrected. "I wanted to see how things were going. I know that you wanted to get everything situated this week before you went back to work with your partner."

Blair raised an eyebrow. There was something about what she said, or the way she said it, which piqued his interest.

He was silent for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly to say. Normally, he would be polite and make an excuse to get back to work, and they would go on their merry way. But Blair was under the distinct impression that that wouldn't work in this situation. 

For starters, the chancellor seemed truly interested in how he was making out in his new office, and he didn't feel the need to pretend to make polite conversation with her.

Before Blair could analyze the situation any further, the Chancellor moved across the floor, her shoes disrupting the silence, which had descended, as they scraped across the floor.

"Sorry, I couldn't come by sooner, but I've been swamped with the preparations for that new expedition." 

Blair looked up at the mention of the expedition. "Really?" He was surprised. Normally the administration didn't take a personal interest in the various expeditions sponsored by the university.

There was definitely more to Chancellor Rhianna Worth than he had previously thought.

"I didn't know you followed the expeditions, Chancellor Rhianna." Blair corrected at the last minute, a little awkwardly.

Rhianna Worth smiled at the use of her first name. "I like to be involved in the different projects of the departments." She leaned forward a bit and her voice dropped down to a whisper. "And honestly, this particular expedition is fascinating. We've never had these two departments so excited about a pending discovery before."

Blair laughed. "Yeah, well, the Anthropology and Archaeology departments work together, sometimes frequently, but our expeditions rarely entail the same places, at the same time. Doctor Reinholdt's discovery is quite a coup."

Rhianna nodded and then seemed to hesitate. After a second she spoke. "Dr. Sandburg." She looked up and her dark eyes locked with his. "May I call you Blair?"

Blair nodded and she smiled once before continuing. "I don't want to appear nosy, and feel free to tell me it's none of my business, but I wondered if I could ask you a question?"

Blair nodded again, growing slightly nervous at the preamble. 

"Of the personal nature."

Blair raised an eyebrow at her apparent nervousness. She didn't seem the type to get nervous, but then she didn't seem the type to be a university beaurocrat either. "Ask away. If it's too personal, I'll tell you." He smiled reassuringly at her. He really hoped that he could answer whatever question she was about to ask.

Rhianna was relieved by Blair's reassurance and smiled back. "It's about your partner, Detective Ellison."

Blair stiffened slightly, but steeled himself to hear the rest of her words.

"Blair, I've I've heard the rumors going around the school, about you." She paused for a moment, trying to say what she needed to, as painlessly as possible. "Normally, I don't pay any attention to the rumors. It doesn't make any difference on you're ability as a teacher, whether its true or not. But" She trailed off, not entirely certain what to say next.

Blair relaxed when he realized that her questions had nothing to do with Sentinels, or Guides or his reasoning for turning down the expedition.

"You want to know if it's true. If I'm gay, is that it?" He asked calmly, not at all offended, or upset.

Rhianna looked up sharply. "No well not exactly."

Blair smiled. "I am bisexual, and I have made no effort to hide that fact. Most anyone who knows me here at the university knows that."

"And at the police station?" She asked cautiously.

Blair grinned. "The people who matter know. It's not a secret."

Rhianna nodded and decided to ask what she really wanted to know. "And you're partner, Detective Ellison, is he " She paused and then plunged on. "Are you lovers?"

Blair was so shocked by the question that he momentarily forgot to breathe, although he wasn't certain why it was a surprise. A lot of people had wondered, and asked the question. And each time he found it amusing, and equally ridiculous.

Not that Jim wasn't attractive, or an excellent catch for anyone, male or female, but his relationship with Jim was based on so many things, none of them were sexually based.

"No, we're not. Best friends, yes. Partners work partners, yes, but lovers? No."

Rhianna sighed and Blair noticed, piquing his curiosity again. He was about to ask her a question, when she spoke again.

"Can you tell me about him?"

**** 

Jim stood up and began walking around the room, trying to figure out the best way to say what he needed to. If he was wrong, this could be slightly embarrassing, but only if he was wrong, and his instinct was telling him he wasn't.

"You bought those books for Blair didn't you?" Jim finally asked.

Simon considered the question. He could be literal and say no, or he could answer what Jim was really asking, and say yes. He settled on somewhere in the middle.

"Not exactly."

Jim spun around. "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?"

Simon took a long drink of his coffee before answering. "I did pull Sandburg's name." He stopped, deciding to be completely honest with his friend. "Actually Rhonda pulled his name and I traded with her." He held up a hand to halt Jim's impending question. "I did give the books to him, though."

Jim frowned, not understanding what it was Simon's was trying to say. "Then why not say you bought them?"

Simon shrugged. "Because I didn't *buy* them. The person I got them from wouldn't sell them to me."

Jim looked more confused than ever. "Then how did you get them?"

"When I told her about Blair, she *gave* them to me."

"And you *gave* them to Blair?" Jim questioned, putting emphasis on the word 'gave'. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Simon asked pointedly.

Jim sighed heavily and sank into the chair. He picked up the coffee mug and drank deeply as he thought about the ramifications. "How long?" He finally asked.

Simon took off his glasses. "I don't know exactly. Awhile."

Jim nodded. "And what exactly are you going to do about it?"

Simon leaned back in his chair as he asked his next question, knowing that everything depended on the answer. "What do you suggest?"

The captain watched as Jim thought about the question, knowing that if Jim disapproved, nothing further would happen, regardless of his own wants and desires. Jim's support was very important to him, and he knew that it would be important to Blair as well.

After an interminably long silence, Jim finally spoke. "It was a good gift. To start."

"To start?" Simon asked, not wanting to misconstrue the words.

Jim nodded. "To start. I assume this isn't about sex, nor should I have to tell you what will happen if you hurt him." The words were calmly spoken, but there was a deadly seriousness in Jim's ice blue eyes.

"No, you don't."

Jim smiled then. "What do you know about courtship rituals, Simon?"

***** 

The End

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